The Lazarus experiment
)0(
Tory and Jordan sat beside each other at the conference desk in the U.N.I.T briefing room. They were watching a live broadcast on the large screen at the front of the room.
"The details are top secret..." an older man was speaking, Professor Lazarus, "Tonight, I will demonstrate a device..."
"Why am I here?" Tory moaned just as the Major entered the room.
"By the request of Mr Saxon," the man answered as he tossed two tickets down on the table in front of the pair, "though Lord knows why."
"...with the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human." Lazarus ended.
Tory picked up the remote and flicked the screen off.
"Oh the elusive Mr Saxon," Tory leant back in her chair, putting her feet on the desk, "why's he so interested?"
"That's none of your concern." The Major snapped, "Now you have the tickets all you have to do is turn up, look presentable," he glanced at Tory like he didn't believe she could manage it, "and investigate."
"Right." Jordan stood, pulled Tory to her feet and shoved her out of the room before the woman blew up at the Major, "Understood, sir." Jordan picked up the tickets and followed Tory outside; they had a party to get ready for.
)0(
The reception hall of the party was a large room filled with guests and waiters', dominating in the centre of the room was a large white round cabinet surrounded by four pillars with a slight curve at the top.
Tory and Jordan were standing close to the machine in hopes of Tory getting a scan on the device when they were distracted by a familiar voice.
"Oh, look, they've got nibbles! I love nibbles!"
"Can we go nowhere without running into your boyfriend?" Jordan sighed as she heard the Doctor's voice over the polite chit-chat of the others in the room.
"No." Tory answered with a smile as she watched her boyfriend, though she preferred the word bondmate, interact with Martha's family.
"That whole hospital thing was yesterday you know." Jordan commented as she watched Martha and her sister interact, "You'd of thought they'd be more concerned."
"Nah, they're humans you could ignore almost anything."
"Oi!" Jordan pointed a finger at her threateningly, "Don't diss my species."
"Sorry." Tory apologised just as Martha's mother and brother joined the Doctor and Martha.
Tory, recognising the warning signs as Martha's mother seemed to be getting rather unfriendly, darted forwards grabbed the Doctor's arm pulled him around to face her moved her grip to his tie and pulled him down to meet her lips with his. He was only just getting over his shock and starting to kiss her back when Jordan pushed her way between the two.
"Hello," she held out her hand to Martha's brother, "Jordan Williams." They shook hands, "I work in the military," she turned to Martha's mother and shook her hand, "We've been looking at Martha for one of our instillations. This is Tory," she waved at Tory who was talking to Martha and the Doctor in low tones explaining why they were there, her hand held firmly in the Doctor's, "my partner."
"Nice to meet you both." Leo smiled. Tory waved at them and was about to speak when they were interrupted by someone tapping on a glass. They turned to face the machine in the centre of the room.
Lazarus was standing in front of it.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the old man spoke, "I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I'm going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you'll awake to a world which will be changed forever." He turned and entered the cabinet, closing the door behind him.
At a desk at the side of the room two female technicians started the machinery. The cabinet made a high-pitched whir and started to glow with a bright blue light as the four pillars span around on the spot, creating an energy field. The pillars then began to orbit the cabinet, going faster and faster.
Jordan stared at the device in amazement. Tory stood next to her holding the Doctor's hand, still trying to get a reading from the device.
Suddenly an alarm rang through the room.
"Something's wrong." The Doctor informed them, "It's overloading."
"Well fix it then!" Jordan snapped at him.
As the technicians tried to stop it one of the panels exploded sending off sparks. The Doctor darted off. He jumped over the low desks and into the middle of the chaos. Tory slid under the table he had jumped over and got to her feet just as the Doctor started using his sonic on the controls.
"Somebody stop him!" Lady Thaw yelled, "Get them away from those controls!"
"If this thing goes off, it'll take the whole building with it." The Doctor yelled back, "Is that what you want?"
The Doctor, not waiting for the Lady Thaw's answer, pulled one of the main wires out of the back of the controls. The machine slowly stopped spinning. Martha and Jordan ran forwards to the door of the machine and pulled it open.
Smoke billowed out as Lazarus emerged, he looked up to the crowd and showed his face looking forty years younger. Photographers snapped away as Martha and Jordan stared in amazement as Lazarus stepped completely out of the machine and held out his arms.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am 76 years old and I am reborn!"
)0(
Several young women were taking the chance to get their picture taken with Lazarus, Martha and Jordan watching them through the cover of several fake plants while Tory and the Doctor studied the machine.
"It can't be the same guy." Martha protested as she walked towards the Doctor and Tory, "It's impossible. It must be a trick."
"Oh, it's not a trick." The Doctor told her as Jordan walked up.
"I wish it were." Tory added as she took his hand.
"What just happened, then?" Martha asked.
"He just changed what it means to be human." The Doctor answered.
The four of them watched as Lady Thaw walked over to Lazarus and started to speak to him. They made their own way over as he grabbed a tray off a passing waiter and started to shove the food into his mouth.
"Energy deficit." The Doctor explained, "Always happens with this kind of process."
"You speak as if you see this every day," Lazarus commented, "Mr..."
"Doctor. And, well, no, not every day, but I have some experience in this kind of transformation."
"That's not possible." Lazarus argued.
"Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance. That's... that's inspired."
"You understand the theory, then." Lazarus commented.
"Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables." The Doctor warned.
"No experiment is entirely without risk." Lazarus countered.
"That thing nearly exploded." Jordan snapped, "You could have killed up all!"
"You're not qualified to comment." Lady Thaw glared at her.
"If I hadn't stopped it, it would have exploded." The Doctor told her.
"Then I thank you, Doctor. But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less."
"You've no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests." Martha argued.
Lazarus laughed.
"Look at me! You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need."
"This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially." Lady Thaw reassured them.
"Commercially?!" Martha repeated, "You are joking. That'll cause chaos."
"Not chaos." Lazarus corrected, "Change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve."
"This isn't about improving. It's about you and your customers living a little longer." The Doctor spat.
"Not a little longer, Doctor. A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely." Lazarus smirked.
"Richard, we have things to discuss. Upstairs." Lady Thaw walked away and Lazarus moved to follow her.
"Goodbye, Doctor. In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were." He reached out and took Martha's hand, kissing it, before leaving.
"Ooh, he's out of his depth." The Doctor commented, "No idea of the damage he might have done."
"So what do we do now?" Martha asked.
"Now... well, this building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests." He grinned.
Martha looked down at her hand before holding it out to the Doctor.
"Lucky I've just collected a DNA sample then, isn't it?"
"Oh, Martha Jones," the Doctor grinned, "you're a star." They started to walk off, Jordan and Tory following behind.
Tory winced as she walked.
"What's wrong?" Jordan demanded quietly, "And don't say nothing 'cos we both know that's bullshit." Tory grinned at her friend before flinching again as her legs rubbed together under her dress.
"I just scraped some skin off my legs when I slid under that desk," Tory tried to wave her off, "I'll be fine in about an hour."
"If you're sure." Jordan conceded as Tory tried and failed to hide another wince.
"Perfectly sure." Tory reassured her.
)0(
A few minutes later they were in a lab that Jordan and Tory had used their clearance to get into before the Doctor could use his psychic paper making the man pout and Martha laugh.
Now Martha, the Doctor and Jordan were all gathered around a computer screen showing the results of the DNA test they had just done on the Lazarus's DNA taken from the back of Martha's hand.
Tory was leaning on the wall by the door; resting to try and speed up the healing on her legs.
"Amazing." The Doctor muttered.
"What?" Martha asked looking between him and the screen.
"Lazarus's DNA." He answered.
"What about it?" Jordan asked him.
"I can't see anything different." Martha told him.
"Look at it!" the Doctor exclaimed just as the image on the screen flickered.
"Oh, my God!" Martha cried, "Did that just change? But it can't have!"
"But it did." The Doctor pointed out.
"It's impossible." Jordan sighed, placing her head on the table with a thump, "Why does this always happen?" she asked herself.
"And that's two impossible things we've seen tonight. Don't you love it when that happens?" the Doctor asked with a happy smile.
"See the impossible everyday hanging out with you." Tory teased him from beside the door.
"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns." Martha realised.
"Hypersonic sound waves to destabilize the cell structure then a mutagenic program to manipulate the coding in the protein strands." Jordan and Martha gave him matching 'what the hell does that even mean?' looks.
"Basically," Tory explained, "he went into his genes and told them to rejuvenate."
"But they're still mutating now." Martha pointed out.
"'Cause he missed something." The Doctor explained, "Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilize. Something that's trying to change him."
"Change him into what?" Martha asked worriedly.
"I dunno," the Doctor straightened, "but I think we need to find out."
"That woman said they were going upstairs." Martha told him.
"Let's go!" he darted out the door, grabbing Tory's hand and dragging her with him, Jordan and Martha following.
)0(
Tory grimaced as she leant against the back wall of the elevator. Jordan rolled her eyes at her friends stubbornness and gave the Doctor a nudge in the ribs as she passed him. Their eyes met as the Doctor shot her an annoyed yet quizzical glare. Jordan jerked her head subtlety in Tory's direction. The Doctor raised an eyebrow but gave a small nod. Jordan shot him a grateful smile and moved so as to make room for Martha. Jordan stood at the back beside Tory while Martha was in front of her beside the Doctor.
The Doctor waited until the doors had closed and the elevator had started moving before turning to Tory; no way she could escape now. The Doctor knew from past experience that when Tory was ill or injured she was hell to take care of. Tory's Meridian Particles did actually require Tory to do complicated mathematical equations in her head before she could move anywhere, these equations would take a human genius years while a Time Lord mind could do them in minutes if not seconds, and those few seconds were all the Doctor needed if Tory refused to let him help and tried to leave, he would simply be able to grab her before she could vanish, go along for the ride and heal her once they got there.
"What is it?" he asked. Tory jumped, not expecting him to talk to her and more focussed on forcing her legs to heal faster anyway.
"What?" she asked in surprise; how did he know?
"What have you done to yourself?" the Doctor questioned; honestly, it was like pulling teeth!
"Nothing?" she hesitated making it into a question.
"Tory." He spoke in a warning tone.
She shuffled on the spot guiltily and winced as her legs rubbed against each other.
"Let me help?" he asked quietly, looking at her with a pleading expression.
Tory didn't answer just held out her left leg.
"They'll heal on their own." Tory pointed out as the Doctor grabbed her ankle gently and placed it on his shoulder forcing her to lean back on the elevator wall to keep her balance.
Jordan and Martha shared a look before turning their backs to give some semblance of privacy in the enclosed space.
Tory blushed lightly and tried to push and pull her dress to sit at her knee rather than bunch at her thighs. The Doctor gave her a sharp look and she relented.
"I've seen it all before anyway." He winked.
His left hand held her knee as his right pulled out the sonic and ran it over her calf, healing the slightly red and raw skin.
"No more sliding under desks for me." Tory joked before gasping as the Doctor quickly moved his hand from her knee to her arse. The sonic moved to her thigh as the Doctor and Tory had a lust filled staring match.
"Hands!" Jordan scolded him without looking around.
The Doctor let Tory's leg drop to the floor gave her arse a playful squeeze before letting go and gesturing for her other leg, a mischievous look in his eye.
"No!" Tory protested half-heartedly, "I'm fine!" he just raised an eyebrow at her. Tory sighed and lifted her other leg onto his shoulder without further protest.
"Thank you." He grinned at her before rewarding her with a quick peck on the lips.
)0(
The group of four stepped out of the elevator and in a large, glass walled, room; Lazarus's office. The Doctor turned on the lights as Tory and Jordan moved passed him.
"This is his office, all right." Martha muttered as the lights shone on the rather lavish decorations and revealed the spectacular view from the window.
"Oh." Tory gasped and darted towards the nearest window and away from the desk at the other side of the room. "It's like York." She breathed as she just stood and took in the view.
The Doctor looked to Jordan for translation.
"Whenever we visit York we go to Cliffords Tower."
"Why?" he asked, listening to Jordan even as he watched Tory admire the view.
"It has to do with her family," Jordan explained, slightly hesitant, "her adoptive one. She, her cousin Rory Williams and their families would meet up every year in York and spend some time together. I was invited up one year and met Rory, he's a great bloke. Anyway, she and Rory would always go up to the top of the Tower together and have a look around, no matter the weather." Jordan smiled as she remembered her old friend.
"I'm sorry." The Doctor muttered.
"What for?" Jordan almost snapped, "My Tory's still in there. I see her sometimes when Tory is looking at something new or something she loves. That little quirk of the head and the fast science speak." Jordan sighed, "But I wouldn't trade this Tory for the world; we're closer than ever." Jordan smiled up at him and fell silent as Tory made her way back over.
"Lazarus has a great view." Tory grinned at them happily.
The Doctor smiled back at her and resolved to find out as much about her family as he could the next time they were alone….or at least not in life threatening danger.
"So, where is he?" the Doctor questioned, looking around the room again.
"Dunno." Martha chipped in as she wandered a few steps closer to the desk, "Let's try back at the re...ception." Martha dashed forwards bringing the others attention to a set of mummified-like bones wearing high-heels and a dress, a dress that Lady Thaw had being wearing at the reception.
They darted over to join Martha.
"Is that Lady Thaw?" Martha asked.
"Used to be." The Doctor answered, "Now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out. Like squeezing the juice out of an orange."
"Lovely." Jordan muttered as she took a few steps back. Tory grinned over her shoulder at Jordan before kneeling down to get a better look at the remains of Lady Thaw.
"Lazarus." Martha suggested.
"Could be." The Doctor acknowledged.
"So he's changed already?" Jordan asked from behind them.
"Not necessarily." The Doctor disagreed, "You saw the DNA. It was fluctuating. The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough."
"So he might do this again?" Martha asked in horror.
"Hmm." The Doctor hummed in agreement before leading Martha in a dash for the elevator, "Tory! Jordan!" the Doctor called back over his shoulder.
"Coming." Jordan yelled back as she grabbed Tory by the back of her dress and pulled her towards the Doctor.
)0(
After a few tense moments in the elevator they arrived back at the reception.
"I can't see him." Martha muttered as she tried to peer through the throngs of guests.
"He can't be far. Keep looking." The Doctor ordered taking Tory's hand and pulling her away with him.
Jordan snorted in amusement but stayed with Martha as her brother walked up.
"Hey, you all right, Martha?" Leo asked as he noticed their slightly frazzled expressions, "I think Mum wants to talk to you."
"Have you see Lazarus anywhere?" Martha questioned.
"Yeah." Leo answered, "He was getting cosy with Tish a couple of minutes ago."
The Doctor and Tory joined them again just before Francine.
"With Tish?!" Martha repeated in worry.
"Ah, Doctor." Francine tried to start.
"Where did they go?" Jordan demanded, cutting over everyone else.
"Upstairs I think," Leo answered, "why?"
"Doctor..." Francine started again only to stop as the Doctor and Tory darted around her, spilling her drink in the process, and away towards the elevators again. "I'm speaking to you!" she yelled after them, only to be ignored.
"Not now, Mum!" Martha scolded her as she and Jordan followed after the Time Lords.
"Always with the running." Jordan muttered.
)0(
They arrived back in the office but it was empty.
"Where are they?" Martha asked worriedly. The Doctor pulled out his sonic at the same time as Tory flared her Meridian Particles around one of her hands.
"Fluctuating DNA will give off an energy signature." The Doctor explained, "We might be able to pick it up."
He held the sonic at arm's length and slowly turned in a circle. Tory was doing the same with her hand in the air. Both ended up facing the same way as the sonic's beeping increased.
"Got him." They cried together.
"Where?" Martha and Jordan demanded.
Tory and the Doctor twisted again and ended up pointing at the ceiling.
"But this is the top floor!" Martha protested.
"The roof!" Jordan realised as she dashed for the stairs, the others following.
)0(
They made their way out onto the roof quietly, just observing as Lazarus and Tish stood on the edge, looking over London.
"And is it like you expected?" Tish asked.
"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect." Lazarus mused, "There's always something to surprise you. "Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act...""
""Falls the shadow"." The Doctor finished.
Lazarus turned to face them.
"So the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot." Lazarus commented, "I'm impressed."
"Martha, what are you doing here?" Tish demanded.
"Tish, get away from him." Martha ordered, holding out her hand but afraid to get too close.
"What? Don't tell me what to do."
"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all." The Doctor commented casually.
"You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more would I get done in two or three or four?" Lazarus asked.
"Doesn't work like that." Jordan spoke up, stepping up beside the Doctor, "Some people live more in 20 years than others do in 80. It's not the time that mattes; it's the person."
"But if it's the right person," Lazarus countered, "what a gift that would be."
"Or what a curse." The Doctor snapped, "Look at what you've done to yourself."
"Who are you to judge me?" Lazarus snapped.
"Over here, Tish." Martha half pleaded half ordered.
Tish rolled her eyes but moved to her sister, keeping her back to Lazarus the whole time.
"You have to spoil everything, don't you?" Tish hissed, "Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault." Behind her Lazarus convulsed and fell to the floor.
"Tish, he's a monster!" Martha tried to argue.
"I know the age thing's a bit freaky," Tish argued, "but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones." At the sound of growling Tish slowly turned to see a transformed Lazarus; he looked like a cross between a giant scorpion and a human skeleton. Lazarus paused before suddenly rearing up and opening flaps on either side of his mouth.
"That can't be good." Tory muttered earning a 'You think?' expression from Jordan.
"Run!" the Doctor yelled grabbing Tory's hand and pulling her back through the door they'd originally used to get onto the roof. The humans rushed in passed them and they slammed the door closed. Tory let go of the Doctor's hand letting him use the sonic on the door and grabbed it again as he was done. They ran back down to Lazarus's office and arrived just as Martha pressed the call button for the elevator.
"Are you okay?" she asked her sister.
"I was gonna snog him." Tish answered, still somewhat in shock.
The group flinched as Lazarus banged on the door upstairs and it started to crack.
Sirens started blaring and the lights dimmed slightly.
Security breach. Security breach. Security beach. The PA announced.
"What's happening?" Martha managed to make herself heard over the racket.
"Uh, an intrusion." Tish explained, "It triggers a security lockdown. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts. Seals the exits."
"Oh that's just fantastic!" Jordan exclaimed.
"Why does this always happen with him?" Tory asked her quietly.
"I have no idea." Jordan answered.
"He must be breaking through that door." The Doctor realised, "The stairs, come on!" he grabbed Tory's hand and dragged her along with him as the others followed behind.
As they ran they heard a door crash open above them. They all stopped stuck their heads over the banister and looked up.
"He's inside!" Martha yelled.
"Haven't got much time!" the Doctor yelled and started running again.
They made it downstairs and back into the reception. The guests were unaware of the danger hurtling towards them.
"Tish!" the Doctor demanded, "Is there another way out of here?"
"There's an exit in the corner," Tish answered, "but it'll be locked now."
The Doctor pulled the sonic out of his coat and tossed it to Martha.
"Martha, setting 54. Hurry."
"Jordan!" Tory ordered, "Go with her."
"Stay alive." Jordan ordered in return before running off, following Martha and Tish.
The Doctor jumped onto the platform in front of the machine.
"Listen to me!" he yelled attracting the attention of the guests, "Your people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!"
"Don't be ridiculous." A blonde woman scoffed, "The biggest danger here is choking on an olive."
The glass on the upper floor shattered as Lazarus leapt through and down onto the same floor as the party.
The humans screamed and started to rush for the exits, ending up pressing against the glass doors as Martha, Tory and Tish had yet to get the doors open.
Leo was hit by a flying table that Lazarus hit in his direction and fell to the floor, his mother by his side.
Martha managed to get the doors open as Tory created a light show using her Meridian Particles to keep Lazarus's attention away from the woman who had yelled at the Doctor before.
"Over here!" Jordan and Martha were yelling at the guests, "This way! Everyone downstairs now! Hurry!"
Tory's plan backfired as Lazarus moved towards her letting the woman make her escape.
"This isn't good." Tory muttered as she stumbled back a few steps as Lazarus got closer.
"No!" the Doctor screamed, "Get away from her!"
Tory bit back a scream as she dodged away from Lazarus's stinger. Tory darted around his massive form and led him away down a nearby corridor.
"This cannot be happening." She huffed to herself as she dodged to the side to avoid another swipe.
She hurtled down the corridor and into a service hall, the ceiling and walls were covered in pipes and Tory was forced to move as quietly as possible over the metal.
"It's no good, girl." Lazarus hissed, "You can't stop me."
"Oh," Tory called back, "Is that the same kind of tone I heard when you insisted there was nothing wrong with your machine? Arrogance is the word I'd use."
"The arrogance is yours." He hissed back, "You can't stand in the way of progress."
"You call feeding on innocents progress? You're insane!"
"It is a necessary sacrifice."
"Who gave you the right to decide that?!"
)0(
Jordan, Martha, Tish and a rather angst-y Doctor had been trying to evacuate the humans but found the main door locked.
"We can't get out!" Tish panicked, "We're trapped!"
"There must be an override switch." Martha muttered, realising that the Doctor was preoccupied worrying about Tory, "Where's the security desk? Tish!"
"Right there." She pointed to the other side of the hall.
The Doctor snapped out of his funk as Jordan whispered furiously in his ear.
"The more time you waste the longer she's alone up there."
The Doctor snatched the sonic from Martha's hands and ran over to the desk; he ran the sonic over it and turned the power back on making the door open.
)0(
Tory looked around as the power came back on, revealing her hiding place.
"Peek-a-boo." Lazarus hissed. Tory looked up and saw him hanging off the ceiling above her.
"Bye!" Tory darted out of the room.
)0(
"I've got to go back." Martha stood and walked away from her mother towards where Jordan and the Doctor were discussing their strategy for getting themselves and Tory out from the building alive.
"You can't!" Francine yelled, grabbing her hand to hold her back, "You saw what that thing did. It'll kill you."
"I don't care." Martha answered, "I have to go."
"It's that Doctor, isn't it?" Francine spat, "That's what's happened to you. That's why you've changed."
"She was buying us time, Martha." Tish tried to reason, "Time for you to get out, too."
"I'm not leaving her! Not when she means so much to him." Martha insisted, charging up the steps to Jordan and the Doctor and following them inside.
)0(
Tory ran into a lab, panting slightly as the exertions of the night finally caught up with her. She took a moment to catch her breath before looking around the room she was in; some sort of science lab.
"That could work…" she muttered as she noticed the gas taps on every desk and in the centre of the room a light fixture that she could easily rewire. She jumped on a desk and started pulling out the wires, leaving them exposed. She jumped back off the table and turned on all the gas taps on the desk before running around to the next one.
Tory ducked behind a desk as she heard Lazarus push open the doors.
"More hide-and-seek, girl?" he hissed, "How disappointing. Why don't you come out and face me?" while he was talking Tory slid around more desks, turning on the desk gas taps when she had the chance.
"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" Tory snarked as she stood and face him, "Why would I want to look at that?" she turned and ran from the room, flicking the light switch as she passed it. The room exploded behind her forcing her to drop to the floor.
Tory pushed herself to her feet with the shake of the head.
"Big boom." She muttered, "I knew there was a reason Jordan stopped letting me play in the science labs."
She started a slow jog away from the explosion.
She turned a corner and ran smack bang into the Doctor's chest.
"Opf." She almost fell back over but the Doctor wound his arms around her waist to hold her upright.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she tried to take a step back but he followed, pinning her against the wall.
"Looking for you." He answered with a charming grin.
"Oh, I am flattered." She flirted.
"Stop with the flirting lover-girl." Jordan spoke as she and Martha turned the corner.
The Doctor pecked Tory on the lips and the pair separated. Tory shot the Doctor a look, we'll finish this later. She told him through the bond as she took his hand. The Doctor gave her a wink before she turned back to Jordan.
"How did you even find me?" she asked curiously.
"We heard the explosion." Martha explained.
"Guessed it was you." Jordan finished with an amused roll of her eyes.
"I blasted Lazarus." Tory explained with a shrug.
"Did you kill him?" Martha asked.
The four turned as they heard the sound of Lazarus crashing down the corridor behind them.
"More sort of annoyed him, I'd say." The Doctor commented idly before tightening his grip on Tory's hand and leading them away at a run.
)0(
They stopped running when they reached the main reception room.
Jordan bent over and put her hands on her knees while she panted to get her breath back. Tory bounced up and down on her feet as the adrenalin buzz really hit her. Martha followed the Doctor as he darted across the room.
"What now?" Martha demanded, "We've just gone 'round in a circle!"
Lazarus burst in.
The Doctor ran for Lazarus's machine, Martha hot on his tail.
"We can't lead him outside. Come on, get in." the Doctor ordered. He slammed the door shut behind them forcing them to be crammed together like peas in a pod.
"Are we hiding?" Martha whispered.
"No, he knows we're here. But this is his masterpiece. I'm betting he won't destroy it, not even to get at us."
"But we're trapped and Tory and Jordan are still out there!"
"Well, yeah," The Doctor agreed, pressing his ear to the side of the machine in an effort to hear outside, "that's a slight problem."
"You mean you don't have a plan?"
"Yes, the plan was to get inside here!"
"Then what?" Martha asked exasperated.
"Well... then I'd come up with another plan." The Doctor answered.
"In your own time, then." Martha sighed.
)0(
Jordan and Tory landed on the floor of their flat with a muffled thump.
"Owww." Tory moaned as she rolled to the side and lay out on the floor.
"What…..did…you…..do?" Jordan panted as she rolled over onto her front and lifted her chest off the ground to glare at Tory.
"Time Travel without the full set of coordinates." Tory explained with another moan. Jordan just moaned back at her. "Only for use in emergency's." Tory continued.
"Oh, you don't say?" Jordan snarked.
"I didn't realise it would hurt this much." Tory tried to defend herself.
Jordan pushed herself to her feet slowly and leant on the arm of the sofa for extra support.
Tory looked up from the floor.
"How can you stand?" she winced, "I hurt."
"I'm not the pilot or the plane." Jordan pointed out before standing properly and moving into the kitchen.
Tory winced again and slowly curled up with her hands wrapped around her stomach.
"Hurts." She whispered. A golden light floated out of her mouth before she could close it. Tory stared at the small cloud in fear. "I don't want to go."
)0(
Me: *types madly*
Timmy: Oi! Tory! I think she's killing you off again!
Tory:*from other room* What?! I can't hear you!
Timmy: I said-
Me: Shut up. Writing.
Timmy: shutting up.
)0(
Jordan moved around the kitchen as fast as she could in her bruised and damaged state; she had to get tea, coffee, Skittles and chocolate spread out to Tory as fast as possible. One of them would hopefully get her back up on her feet so they could go and save Martha and the Doctor from Lazarus.
She got everything onto a tray and carried it back out into the living room.
Tory was curled up on the floor a cloud of silver and gold gas covering her.
Jordan stopped and stared, wide eyed, as Tory struggled to get to her feet.
Tory stared over at Jordan, tears running down her face.
"I'm so sorry." Tory whispered.
"No." Jordan muttered, "I won't let you leave me again." If you ever ask Jordan about what happened next, she'll never tell you why or what she did, just that it worked.
Jordan grabbed the handle of the cup of tea and threw the liquid on Tory.
Tory blinked as the tea was absorbed by the golden gas.
"Did you just throw tea at me?" she demanded as she stood up without pain. The golden gas vanished into the silver of her Meridian Particles before they vanished back into her body.
Jordan didn't answer, just threw the tray she was holding over her shoulder, ran over to Tory and pulled her into her arms.
"I thought you were regenerating!" she cried as she checked Tory over for injuries.
"No." Tory frowned at her, "I was healing." Tory lied; she would never admit that she was really regenerating to anyone for as long as she lived too afraid of Jordan hearing about it somehow.
Jordan pulled back and stood in front of Tory with her hands on her hips.
"Well how was I supposed to know?!" Jordan demanded.
Tory paused.
"You have a point."
)0(
Jordan and Tory climbed out of a taxi (Tory not trusting her body enough to risk using her Meridian Particles) and watched as a covered body was carried out of Lazarus's building and passed the groups of recovering party goers that littered the stairs until it was loaded onto an ambulance and taken away.
"Is that Lazarus?" Jordan questioned the nearest party guest.
"Yeah." The guest answered before turning back to his date.
Tory and Jordan thanked him before slowly climbing to the top of the stairs.
"Should we go look for the Doctor?" Jordan asked as she searched through the crowd.
"He's over there." Tory waved towards the top of the stairs where the Doctor and Martha where watching the ambulance drive away.
Tish ran up to the time travellers and pulled her sister into a hug.
Francine joined the group and promptly slapped the Doctor across the face.
Tory moved towards them faster than most would have thought one could move in high heels and a dress, Jordan flanking her.
Tory pulled the Doctor away and to the side while checking him over for permanent damage.
Jordan grabbed Francine's hand and pulling it behind her back to restrain her.
"What are you doing?" Tish demanded.
"You're mother just struck a member of Her Majesties Government; she can be charged and jailed." Jordan explained in a cold tone, "And more than that she just hurt a good friend of mine."
The Doctor and Tory moved back over to the group.
"Stand down," the Doctor ordered giving Jordan a harsh glare, "I haven't worked for U.N.I.T. for years."
"You never resigned." Jordan pointed out merrily before letting go of Francine and stepping away.
"All their mothers, every time." The Doctor muttered under his breath to Tory making her laugh.
"He is dangerous!" Francine protested, "I've been told things."
"What are you talking about?" Martha demanded.
Francine took her by the shoulders.
"Look around you! Nothing but death and destruction!" Francine argued.
"This isn't his fault." Martha protested shrugging her mother off and moving to stand beside Jordan, "He saved us, all of us!"
"It was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place." Leo pointed out, "I'd say technically, it's her fault." Tish elbowed him in the side to shut him up.
There was the sound of screeching brakes and a crash.
Tory, the Doctor and Jordan glanced at each other before running towards the source, the Doctor casting a look back at Martha as they ran.
Martha moved as if to follow the trio but her mother grabbed her arm.
"Leave him." She ordered.
Martha shook her head and ran after them.
"Martha?" Tish moved to follow her sister.
"Not you, too?" Francine half moaned half begged.
"Sorry." Tish darted after the others, leaving her mother and brother behind.
)0(
"We've got a following." Tory muttered in disbelief as they stopped running beside the crashed ambulance and she glanced back over her shoulder at Martha, Jordan and Tish.
"Always happens with me." The Doctor answered with a shrug before pulling the damaged back doors of the ambulance open revealing the dried husks of the crew inside. "Lazarus, back from the dead. Should've known, really." He commented dryly before pulling out his sonic and starting to scan for Lazarus.
"Where's he gone?" Martha asked after getting her breath back.
"That way." The Doctor pointed with the sonic, "The church."
"Cathedral." Tish corrected, "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me."
"Allonzy." Tory muttered, taking the Doctor's hand and following him inside.
)0(
Inside the cathedral the group walked up the centre of the aisle, the Doctor in front, sonic out and scanning.
"Do you think he's in here?" Martha whispered.
"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" the Doctor asked her.
They moved forwards through the empty cathedral to the open space behind the altar and underneath the bell tower. Lazarus was sitting on the floor wrapped in a red blanket from the ambulance and gasping for breath.
"I came here before." Lazarus spoke as the Doctor walked around him in a large, slow, circle, the women standing together to the side, "A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat there, just a child... the sound of planes and bombs outside."
"The Blitz." The Doctor announced.
"You've read about it." Lazarus realised.
"We were there." The Doctor corrected, nodding at Tory to include her in his statement.
"You're too young." Lazarus scoffed.
"So are you." The Doctor replied.
Lazarus started to laugh but it turned into a pained gasp as he tried to fight his transformation.
"In the morning," Lazarus continued, "the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again." The Doctor continued his slow walk, his eyes pointed up; towards the bell tower. "So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."
"That's what you were trying to do today." The Doctor realised.
"That's what I did today." Lazarus snapped.
"What about the other people who died?" the Doctor demanded.
"They were nothing." Lazarus waved him off, "I changed the course of history."
"Any of them might have done, too." The Doctor tried to reason, "You think history's only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that."
"No, Doctor. Avoiding death. That's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fibre of being. I'm doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more... successful." Lazarus groaned in pain.
"Look at yourself!" Tory snapped, losing patience with the stubborn idiotic man, "You're mutating! You've no control over it! You call that a success?"
"I call it progress." Lazarus snapped back, "I'm more now that I was. More than just an ordinary human."
"There's no such thing as an ordinary human." Tory growled back at him.
Martha and Jordan had a quick whispered conversation with the Doctor before Lazarus got bored of arguing with Tory.
"You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look." Lazarus commented.
"I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tired of watching everything turn to dust." He squatted beside Lazarus, "If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you end up alone."
Not anymore. Tory told him through the bond, moving next to him and placing a finger on the back of his neck.
"That's a price worth paying." Lazarus spat.
"Is it?" the Doctor asked darkly.
Lazarus convulsed again.
"I will feed soon."
"I'm not gonna let that happen."
"You've not been able to stop me so far." Lazarus gloated.
Martha and Jordan moved up behind him.
"Leave him, Lazarus!" Martha ordered, "He's old and bitter. Thought you had a taste for fresher meat."
"Martha, no." the Doctor ordered.
"Jordan!" Tory yelled in warning as Lazarus snarled and shot to his feet.
Tish, Martha and Jordan were off like a shot. Lazarus in hot pursuit.
"What are you doing?!" Tory screamed after the humans as they vanished up a flight of stairs.
Lazarus screamed as he changed.
"Where are they?" the Doctor demanded desperately, "Martha?!"
"Jordan!" Tory yelled, "You get your ass back here right now!"
Martha peered out of one of the archways on the upper level.
"Doctor! Tory!" She yelled down.
"Take him to the top, the very top of the bell tower, d'you hear me?!" the Doctor yelled up to her.
"Up to the top!" Martha repeated, "Then what?"
"Martha, come on!" the Time Lords heard Tish yell and Martha's head vanished as the humans started running again.
The Doctor grabbed Tory's hand and darted towards a massive pipe organ. He slid onto the bench and pulled out the sonic.
"Hypersonic sound waves." He muttered, "Inspired." He jammed the sonic into an empty slot in the organ and started pulling out all the stops. Tory, noticing what he was doing, joined in.
Tory and the Doctor heard a scream coming from above them and looked up.
"I hope it's good acoustic in here." He muttered before starting to play.
Tory watched as Martha was slapped to the side by Lazarus's tail and ended up hanging over the edge.
"Turn it up!" Tory ordered sending a blast of Meridian Particles at the pipes of the organ increasing the volume to nearly ten times what it was. Glass, pipes and walls shook.
Lazarus writhed before falling. Down. Down. Down. He hit the floor.
The Doctor stopped playing and looked after him, Tory at his side. Lazarus lay on the floor back in human form.
"Jordan? Martha? Tish!?" Tory yelled upwards.
"I'm okay!" Martha yelled down, "We're all okay!"
"Tell Jordan I'm going to kill her!" Tory yelled up, laughing in relief.
"Feeling the love T!" Jordan's voice yelled back.
Tory laughed again as the Doctor pulled her into his arms and into a long snog.
)0(
The Doctor knelt beside Lazarus's body and closed his eyes. The Doctor backed away and took Tory's hand again as Lazarus aged back into his older body.
The pair spun as they heard the sound of three pairs of feet getting closer. The two separated as they dashed to their respective companions pulling them into hugs.
"Don't you dare die." Tory warned Jordan as she pulled back and away.
"Not without a fight." Jordan agreed.
"I didn't know you could play?" Martha exclaimed as she and the Doctor ended their hug.
"Oh, well, you know, if you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up." The Doctor shrugged.
"Hmm, especially about playing loud." Martha teased.
The Doctor leaned towards her like he didn't hear.
"Sorry?"
Martha and Jordan laughed.
"Idiot," Tory scolded him playfully before grabbing his tux collar and kissing him senseless.
"Do they ever stop?" Jordan sighed.
)0(
Me: Ah, only two more chapters after this and then the end of the book! Not sure if I should cry or not…..
Tory: Nah, my adventures continue in the SEQUAL! *evil laugh*
Me: *rolls eyes*